TeamAlzheimers.org - In Dan's Own Words

Runner Biography: Dan Moulton

Even calling this a "runner" biography feels a bit dishonest. 30 years ago, I could call myself a runner. However, I would be more honest today by calling myself a "walker."

Kristen and Heather 2008

Two years ago, my two daughters (Kristen and Heather), decided that they would take up running as part of a joint fitness program. As Kristen lives in Ottawa and Heather lives here in Calgary (Alberta, Canada), doing this as a joint venture posed some difficulties. Kristen's husband, Jordan, had also begun running and training for full marathons. Kristen would have a training partner. Heather, however, was mostly training by herself…

To encourage their success, they jointly decided to find a half marathon to run in together. Both their mother and I graduated from the University of Vermont in 1974. I had grown up in Vermont, and their mother had lived there through her university years. As I have family that continues to live in Vermont, my daughters made a decision to run in the Covered Bridges Half Marathon that ran in June 2008.

My mother had been diagnosed with Alzheimer's in the late 90s-early 2000. At the time, she had been living in Florida with my father. Because this disease makes such tremendous demands on immediate family members, my father decided that returning to Vermont would provide a little more support, both from family members and from long-time friends. Watching from Calgary Alberta was truly frustrating. Fortunately, my younger daughter works for a Canadian airline that provides parents with cheap flights. I was able to visit more often than would otherwise have been possible. However, the majority of the burden of support fell to my father and my sister.

We watched this disease destroy my mother’s self-confidence, her security, her interests, her joy, and, eventually, most of her memories. In June of 2009, her fight with Alzheimer’s finally ended. We were all in Vermont for her funeral and the family buried her next to an infant grandson in the cemetery my parents had loved, in Quechee.

It was then that we discovered how significantly coincidental the Covered Bridges Half Marathon would become. The race ends very close to the Quechee Inn. In the early 1970’s, my family lived in the “Marshland Farm” which has become the Quechee Inn. The cemetery where my mother is buried is less than a mile from the race end. In 2009, the race was run on the day my mother died.

Kristen remembered the strong presence of Team Alzheimer’s when she and Heather ran in 2008. She decided that this would be a tremendous opportunity for our family to honour my mother, take a positive step to raise funds for Alzheimer’s research, make some positive lifestyle changes, and gather together from our scattered locations. She began her campaign immediately following her return to Ottawa after the funeral.

So far, we have gathered quite a group. Their mother, Sara, has been training and “walk-running” all year. My sister-in-law, Lisa, is an active runner and continues her normal fitness routine. Heather, who works part-time in a running supply store here in Calgary (as well as her work with the airline) has been working with her other runners to develop training programs for us “old folks” so that we don’t hurt ourselves too much as we participate. My nephew - Jeffrey, is signed up, Kristen’s husband – Jordan, Lisa’s daughters – Jessica & Amanda, Heather and her fiancé – Matt, Matt’s father – Ken, Matt’s brother – Jordan (both from Ontario), my niece – Jennifer, and her boyfriend are among those who have heard Kristen’s call and are running to honour my mother. I believe that my brother, Dave, and my sister, Pat, are also training and registered for the race, though I don’t believe that they registered for the team Alzheimer’s group.

My mother did not see Alzheimer’s as a curse. She did see it as something to fight against. She did not want to become someone whom everyone avoided because of embarrassment. Fortunately, she never had to endure that kind of behaviour. However, I do believe that she would be proud of her family. However we wind up finishing, we will be honouring my mother in a truly wonderful manner. I thank Team Alzheimer’s and, especially, Kristen for encouraging us all in this enterprise.